[geeks] value of PIII PC servers

[Lionel Peterson]

datapoint: IBM xServer 300s for $129 and up at antonline.com

http://www.antonline.com/custom_08672-52x-used-ibm-server-x300-eserver-xseries_21.htm

Single CPU, not so much RAM, but just a datapoint.

With hardware like this, you are really paying for the treatment the thing got as it was removed, not the item that was removed. Put another way, the machine has no value as a commerical computing resource, getting a known-good machine that is not missing any components IS worth something. You are paying for the latter, not the former.

A PIII rackmount server has (probably) been depreciated twice since it was first built (once byt he original owner, once by the second owner), and if you can afford to wait, you'll probably find some high-quality units for low prices.

By asking on this list, you are just inviting comments about older Sun rackmount hardware... ;^)

Lionel


>From: Joshua Boyd <jdboyd at jdboyd.net>
>Date: Mon Jun 12 12:39:37 CDT 2006
>To: The Geeks List <geeks at sunhelp.org>
>Subject: Re: [geeks] value of PIII PC servers

>On Mon, Jun 12, 2006 at 12:59:28PM -0400, Charles Shannon Hendrix wrote:
>> I'm looking to pick up a dual Pentium III PC server.
>> 
>> I don't know a lot about them, and mostly picked that setup because they
>> are all 3-5 years old so they should be inexpensive.
>> 
>> I've seen Dell Poweredge 2400 servers for $100-$300, depending on CPU
>> speed and available drives.  They all have dual power supplies and U160
>> SCSI.  Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris suppor their SCSI controllers.
>> 
>> Is a 2400 with a pair of 700-800MHz CPUs worth $300?
>
>I don't think so.  I think it would be closer to $100-$200.  For $300
>you should be able to buy better machines that are also rackable.  18
>months ago my employer bought some barely used HP rack mount servers
>with dual 833mhz CPUs, U160 RAIDs with 6 18gig 10k or 15k RPM disks
>each, remote management cards, gigabit ethernet, and 2 gigs of ram each
>for $300.  
> 
>> Recommendations of other PC servers appreciated of course, but I have a
>> strict budget and space requirements.  Nothing over $300, and I can't
>> use rack mount equipment.  I have no racks, and my server table doesn't
>> have a whole lot of depth for a long rackmount system.
>
>Take your $300 and split it between a rack and a rackmount PC?
> 
>
>-- 
>Joshua D. Boyd
>jdboyd at jdboyd.net
>http://www.jdboyd.net/
>http://www.joshuaboyd.org/
>_______________________________________________
>GEEKS:  http://www.sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/geeks